“Entertainment Tonight” co-anchor Mark Steines (right)has seen a lot in his 12 years on the show – including the tragedy that befell Anna Nicole Smith. Steines and “ET” were with Smith when her son, Daniel, died last year – and Steines was one of the last journalists to interview Smith before her own death just five months later.

“I found myself in a very unique situation, being emotionally close to [Smith] and knowing her,” he says. “[Her death] was very tragic for me, and then I sat back and saw other people abusing the story in many ways.”

Steines, in fact, was angered over Internet photos, circulating yesterday, that purportedly show Smith dead, with vomit dripping from her mouth. “In fact that was tartar sauce, she was not passed out and you can see her eating in the next [picture frame],” he says. “People are continuing to cash in on her. It’s an ongoing battle she fought while she was alive.”

Steines, who’s seen his share of crash-and-burn celebrity stories, says Britney Spears (left) is “heading down a really bad road” – but defends shows like “ET” which cover such stories. “We’ve always followed what our audience is interested in,” he says.

Steines also says he came thisclose to landing the “Price is Right” job that eventually went to Drew Carey.

“I tested in late March and less than a month later was get ting a phone call saying I was gonna be the new Bob Barker . . . and by the end of July they went with Drew. It happens every day in this business, but . . . I took it personally.”